There are still twenty minutes left before the start of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Madrid Pirates and Catalonia United.
Parotti stood in the locker room, and behind him, leaning against the wall, stood the rest of the coaching staff.
They all looked at the players on the opposite side.
The players focused on Parotti in the C position.
"Regarding what the media said, I would like to make an explanation here." Parotti, who was in the center of attention, said, "The media is right, but not completely right. I will indeed leave the team - I am not thinking about it.
That decision has been made. But whether to leave after the end of this season or after this game, I don’t know.”
Although since last Tuesday's loss to Catalonia, news about Parotti's possible dismissal has been circulating.
The players can more or less guess that the outcome of today's game is related to the fate of the head coach.
But their own speculations were somewhat different from hearing the head coach tell them the news personally.
Especially for those who are still lucky, it is even more impactful - they all know that this game is related to the fate of the head coach, so as long as they win this game, reverse Catalonia and advance to the semi-finals,
Does it mean that Parotti doesn’t have to finish class?
As a result, Parotti told them: That was not the case. He was just leaving a little later, and he would eventually leave, ending his nine-year coaching career at Madrid Pirates.
Parotti ignored the players with different expressions on their faces and continued:
"I have decided to leave the team after the end of this season. But if I am fired before then, then I will accept the result calmly. At Madrid Pirates, I have won all the honors that can be won. All of this
None of it would be possible without your help and support. So please allow me to express my gratitude to all of you here."
Having said this, he looked at his players.
Some people had expressionless faces, some pursed their lips tightly, and some lowered their heads, unwilling to look at themselves.
※※※
“Kabanka!!”
The voice of Sanchez, the on-site commentator, was drowned out by the huge boos at Pirates Park almost as soon as he stood up.
Catalonia's No. 10 sent a fatal through ball in front of the penalty area!
The ball passed through the space between two Madrid Pirates defenders.
Behind them, Renaldo Lima suddenly stepped in. After receiving the pass, he swung his left foot!
"Reynardo——"
Lima's body fell to the right, tilting at an extremely large angle, as if he was trying to kick the football to the near corner.
But when he almost lost his balance, his left ankle flicked slightly and pushed the football to the far corner!
Goalkeeper Hewel rushed to the near corner and was helpless against the football flying behind him.
He could only look back and watch the football fly into the goal from behind!
"-Lima!!!!GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!"
The moment the football flew into the goal, the boos on the field became smaller.
Many Pirates fans looked at the stadium with their mouths wide open, but did not make any sound.
They watched in silence as the Catalan United players ran to celebrate in the stands of visiting fans.
On the big screen in the stands, the real-time score of the two sides was displayed.
Madrid Pirates 0:1 Catalonia United
(Total score 0:3)
Seawell got up from the ground and roared at his teammates with dissatisfaction.
Starting center back Riva Moreno lowered his head and said nothing.
This ball was his responsibility - although he noticed Lima's intention to cross into the space behind Drew, his turn speed was too slow and he failed to catch the opponent.
Drew went up to hit Kabangka, turned around and saw the scene of Lima shooting. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky speechlessly.
"...The thirty-seven-year-old Moreno is still playing the main role in the defense of this team. This is a microcosm of the dilemma currently facing this Madrid Pirates..." Sanchez sighed.
"As a meritorious central defender during the team's three consecutive Champions League seasons, Moreno has rich experience, but it is also true that his turning speed is slow. In the ball just lost, his shortcoming was magnified to the extreme - facing a flexible
Lima, he's like a rusty can man..."
"Despite this, Parotti would rather trust Moreno. In fact, Adrian Neri has recovered from injury, but Parotti still put him on the bench..."
Adrian Nery is a rising center back star in Monaco City in Ligue 1. In the summer of 2032, Madrid Pirates Club spent 51 million euros to sign the 24-year-old French international from Monaco City.
Hopefully he can replace the thirty-five-year-old Riva Moreno.
This is a signing that has attracted much attention and anticipation.
As a result, the "iron man" who had played full attendance for three seasons in Monaco City suddenly became a "glass man" when the Madrid Pirates came.
He was injured while participating in team training and missed the team's first three months of training and games.
After he recovered from the injury, he only played five games before getting injured again.
This time he injured the cruciate ligament in his knee. He had to undergo surgery and was reimbursed for the season.
After resuming training this season, injuries continued.
It has been almost two seasons since I joined the team and I have played on and off for twelve games.
No one knows when he will be injured next, or which part of the body has the problem this time...
This is why in such a crucial game, Parotti would rather start the 37-year-old center back Moreno than dare to let the "healthy" Neri play.
However, judging from the actual results, there is no difference.
Because Moreno also failed to prevent Catalan United's goal.
In fact, even if he didn't choose Neri, Parotti still had other choices for central defenders, but they were useless. He just stubbornly trusted the 37-year-old Moreno, the main central defender during the three consecutive Champions League periods.
This is also a point that he has been criticized for this season - he trusts too much in the veteran players who have followed him throughout the world, and does not do enough to update the team's lineup.
If it weren't for injuries, it would be almost difficult for him to make large-scale adjustments to the lineup.
Madrid Pirates' starting lineup is almost the same as it was in three consecutive Champions League seasons in three years. This is the biggest problem.
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"Jesus, shouldn't I tell them before the game that I'm leaving?"
Standing in front of the coach, Parotti covered his mouth and asked Jesus Valentin, the first assistant coach next to him.
"You shouldn't act like you're leaving tomorrow..." Valentin tactfully criticized Parotti's approach. "You made the atmosphere a little sad and the morale was low. In fact, I think you should
Don’t mention this matter before the game, and find a way to focus everyone’s attention on the game..."
Parotti sighed: "I thought this would give the players the courage and fighting spirit to fight against the odds. As expected, speaking impassionedly and making everyone excited is not what I'm good at..."
※※※
The commentator of Radio Catalonia said excitedly: "It should be that they suddenly knew before the game that their head coach was about to be dismissed, which affected the players of the Madrid Pirates. They all knew that if the game failed, their beloved head coach would
What kind of ending is there, and how is it possible to perform well under such tremendous pressure?
"From the beginning of this game, the players of Madrid Pirates struggled very much. It can be seen that they want to win, but maybe they want to win too much, but they seem very nervous... Oh, and Farias
.He finally replaced Tonini as the starter in this game, but what was the result? What was his performance? In the first thirty minutes, two opportunities were wasted. As soon as the ball came to his feet, the Madrid Pirates' offensive progress slowed down.
.And the key is that he really likes to get the ball...ha!"
At this point, the commentator of Radio Catalunya couldn't help laughing: "Thank you Parotti for letting Farias start!"
When the Catalan Radio commentator was irritated, the TV broadcast just cut to a close-up shot of Farias.
In the camera, he frowned and looked unhappy.
When He Feng saw Farias like this, he tactfully criticized: "So far in the game, Farias has been very active, but... he was too active. There were two opportunities in the game, but he actually passed the football.
, would have been better. But he chose to bring it himself. Taking it to the end wasted time and even lost the ball..."
Yan Kang added next to him: "Farias may want to prove himself too much, but haste makes waste. He should still pass more passes to Hu Lai. Several times Hu Lai ran into position, just because
Farias lowered his head to dribble the ball and didn't see it. When he passed the football again, the best opportunity was gone."
※※※
In front of the Madrid Pirates coach's bench on the sidelines, they had already been annoyed and pained by this conceded goal, and now it was time to consider how to deal with it.
Jesus Valentin turned his attention to Farias: "Nothing has changed at all. He still plays according to his own ideas. I admit that his skills are very good and he has a high probability of passing in one-on-one situations."
But what's the use of losing the opponent? A real football match is not a one-on-one duel... Do we have to replace him at halftime? Tonini said that he would give up the starting lineup to him, but he didn't say
You can't substitute him."
Parotti shook his head:
"At least his attitude towards the game is pretty good."
Next to him, the second assistant coach Enzo Naher joked: "That's true, I thought he would fail. After all, if you lose this game and prevent him from becoming the main force of the team, you will be fired."
Parotti said nothing more.
He knew his fellow coaching staff had deep prejudices against Farias.
He wasn't going to convince them either.
He just stood on the sidelines and looked at Nestor Farias on the court.
※※※
Seeing the football flying into the goal, Farias in front raised his arms and expressed dissatisfaction with the team's defense.
Very strange.
From the perspective of his own interests, it would actually be in his best interest if the Madrid Pirates lost this game.
Because Parotti will leave the class unchanged.
He can become the main force and core of the team.
But now that he sees the team losing the ball, he is very unhappy...
From the bottom of his heart, he still hopes that the team can turn around and come back.
So he performed very actively and hard in this game.
During this 30-minute game, he kept "hand-to-hand" fighting with Catalan United players, which caused him to consume more physical energy than usual.
It seems that I am being targeted by the Catalan United...
Thinking of this, Farias' body suddenly surged with energy:
